Ajayi becomes fastest Nigerian man in World Championships history
Kanyinsola Ajayi has broken the record for Nigeria’s fastest man in the World Athletics Championships, held by Daniel Effiong, which had stood for 32 years.
Effiong ran 9.98 in the first of two semifinal heats at the 4th edition of the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1993 to place second behind Andre Cason (9.94).
The time was the first sub-10 seconds performance by a Nigerian sprinter in the history of the Championships and remained the only one until Ajayi came onto the scene.
The 20-year-old sped to an incredible 9.88 finish to place second in his first-round heat at the ongoing 20th World Athletics Championships.
The time, the third fastest by a Nigerian man ever, is also the fastest by a Nigerian in the history of the Championships.
It is also just 0.03 seconds off the Nigerian record of 9.85, set by Olusoji Fasuba in 1985 in Doha, Qatar.
Ajayi could leave the Championships not only as the first to mount the podium but could also add a new Nigerian record to his name.
The highest position a Nigerian has reached in the men’s 100m at the Championships was Fasuba’s fourth-place finish in Osaka, Japan, in 2007, while the fastest time in the final of the event was Effiong’s 10.04 seconds in 1993.
